Riverwoods Preservation Council

 Close window

Several years ago, Howie Patterson, a long-time Riverwoods resident, a former founding RPC director and its first treasurer, and someone who has been productively active in Riverwoods matters for many, many years, proposed a song for the RPC. Howie had come across a song composed by Henry Russell and first published in 1837, called "Woodman Spare That Tree." Howie thought it might be an appropriate theme for the RPC.

(Photograph by Roger Simonson)

Howie took the lyrics to Greg Mancuso, who scribbled a few new lines. Howie then gave the new lyrics, along with the original music, to singer and guitarist David Kaufman, who generously recorded the song and contributed it to the RPC. The video includes photographs taken in Riverwoods by several residents. Many of the photos of birds were taken by Ho Min Lim. Many of the plant photos were taken by Sue Auerbach. Other photos were taken by Rich Famularo, Bob Kaul, Mike Lippitz, Herb Schwab, Louise Simonson, Roger Simonson, and Greg Mancuso.

The photograph above is of Howie Patterson and Sue Auerbach, taken in the spring of 2007 at an RPC event. Sue, who moved to California in the fall of 2009 after decades in Riverwoods, was a founding director of the RPC, played a key role in producing the RPC's book In Our Own Backyard, and developed and maintained the first RPC web site. Through her knowledge and dedication, she inspired us to keep trying to improve our local woodlands.

The RPC Video is in wmv format, and should be playable on most computers. If you have a problem, please let us know.